I’m the Madman of This Family

Episode 320. There’s a Reason for Strength (1)

Ten figures gathered at the Second Training Ground.

Mail, Anis, and the Taragon Triad—

Catherine, the only Demon Archer of Sephira—

The commanders of the Holy, Stellar, and Lunar Knight Orders—

Mizari and Pekda of the Big Dipper—

And finally, Elder Panir.

Each one was a core figure of Sephira.

Keter, who had summoned them, was leisurely warming himself by a bonfire in the igloo with Maknun.

“You crazy bastard! You call us out in this weather while you sit cozy and watch?”

Panir, furious, tried to storm into the igloo, but the ground rose, blocking the entrance.

Click.

Using the power of the Five Elements Divine Artifact, Toban, Keter manipulated the ground, creating a small gap.

“I said the first five. Did you make it in?”

“Yes. Elder Panir arrived fifth. I arrived sixth, so I know.”

“……!”

Catherine, who had arrived fifth, gave up her spot.

In truth, Panir had arrived sixth at the igloo. By the narrowest of margins.

Creak.

The igloo’s entrance opened. Keter gestured to those outside.

“The first five, come in. The rest, listen from outside.”

“Ahem!”

Mail, who had been lucky enough to be nearby and arrived first, coughed awkwardly and entered the igloo, followed by Mizari, Anis, and Taragon.

“Catherine. You don’t need to pity me. You go in.”

Despite Panir’s refusal, Catherine firmly pushed him forward.

“This has nothing to do with pity. I’m doing this for my own training. I would’ve given up my spot to anyone, not just you. So hurry up and go in.”

“Hmm……”

But Panir couldn’t easily accept or refuse. Accepting would hurt his pride as an elder, and refusing would mean enduring the bone-chilling cold.

“3, 2……”

Finally, as Keter began counting down in irritation, Catherine, in a hurry, forcefully pushed Panir’s back.

Panir could’ve pretended to give in and entered. But he held his ground.

“If you’re not going in, how can I?”

It was a touching sentiment, but the igloo’s entrance closed mercilessly.

“From now on, I am the instructor, and you are the trainees. Anyone with complaints can leave now.”

Keter’s voice was colder than the freezing weather. Naturally, no one left.

It was well-known that Keter’s training was brutal. But it was also undeniably effective.

Keter spared no expense on elixirs and even opened new horizons in archery. Not to mention, he had also taught the advanced technique of Heavenly Power.

On top of that, even Panir, who had the strongest pride in Sephira, had come. Who could refuse?

“No one? Let me warn you, you could die. I’ll do my best to keep you alive, but even I can’t save you if your head flies off.”

“Head flies off… Haha, are you trying to scare us that much?”

The Vice-Commander of the Lunar Knight Order tried to laugh off the cold, but at that moment, a vein popped on his cheek.

“Huh?”

He was startled by the warm, tingling sensation on his cheek. When he touched it, his fingers came away bloody.

“The arrow I just shot is the speed you need to reach. From now on, I won’t shoot so casually. I don’t want to stay in this cold for more than a week.”

“W-was that an arrow just now?”

“You, the one talking, what number did you arrive?”

“Tenth…”

“Then from now on, you’re Number 10. The same goes for the rest. I’ll call you by numbers, not names. Also, you will address me with respect. Anyone with complaints can leave. Understood?”

“Y-yes, understood.”

“Short and firm!”

“Yes!”

Number 10 felt no shame being taught by Keter, who was much younger.

After all, he hadn’t even felt the arrow that had grazed his cheek moments ago. He didn’t know where it had come from or when it had passed. He only realized he’d been attacked when the blood appeared.

He had fought as a Vice-Commander in the Family War and the Kingdom Army’s battles. Prepared for death, he achieved astonishing growth. He jumped from mid-level 5-star to high-level in a single leap.

Just two battles, roughly a month’s time. Decades of training and practice couldn’t break the wall between mid and high levels, but real combat had done it.

His confidence soared. But after feeling Keter’s arrow, he realized he was a frog in a well.

The others were no different.

‘Did he just shoot an arrow?’

‘I was right next to him, but I couldn’t feel it at all.’

‘There wasn’t even a motion of drawing the bow.’

Even if those outside the igloo had their vision blocked, those inside were even more shocked.

‘Can we even do this?’

Hold the bow.

Nock the arrow.

Draw the string.

Aim at the target.

Release the string.

Shooting an arrow inevitably requires these five actions in order.

But Keter had none of that. From holding the arrow to releasing the string, he flipped the very concept of archery on its head.

“Do you think it’s impossible?”

“…….”

“Don’t answer my questions with silence.”

“I can’t even imagine it.”

“I have no idea how to even begin.”

Anis and Taragon, who had the strongest desire for power, spoke up.

Keter nodded.

“Right. You can’t do what I do. Catherine, even you, who learned Demon Archery, can’t use my Celestial Infinity Technique with just Demon Archery.”

“Instructor. Does that mean you’ll teach us the Celestial Infinity Technique?”

Taragon’s eyes sparkled as he asked.

“You can’t learn the Celestial Infinity Technique. It’s not about talent. You need to perfectly control Aura and Mana, and without Ain, the fusion of those two powers, the Celestial Infinity Technique is incomplete.”

Keter, who had decided to teach Sephira the Celestial Infinity Technique, also shared information about Ain without holding back.

“But that doesn’t mean it won’t help you. Because the foundation of the Celestial Infinity Technique is the Twelve Zodiac Arches.”

“……?!”

“That… that doesn’t make sense. The foundation of the Celestial Infinity Technique is the Twelve Zodiac Arches?”

Everyone was shocked. After all, Keter’s Celestial Infinity Technique was an independent archery style. It wasn’t something learned from Sephira.

Naturally, Keter hadn’t learned the Twelve Zodiac Arches either. No one had taught him.

“Are you saying you knew the Twelve Zodiac Arches before coming to Sephira?”

Panir shouted as if it were absurd.

He had always been suspicious. Keter’s archery was different from Sephira’s, but there were clear similarities.

At first, he thought it was just because archery was simple and similarities were inevitable. But hearing that Keter had created his technique by referencing the Twelve Zodiac Arches made it even harder to believe.

This was natural. Keter had learned the Twelve Zodiac Arches in his past life.

After Sephira’s fall, Basil gave Keter everything of Sephira. That’s when Keter first learned the Twelve Zodiac Arches and quickly grasped its limitations.

So, he combined his combat experience and techniques with the Twelve Zodiac Arches to create the Celestial Infinity Technique.

How could he explain this? He couldn’t. Explaining his past life would only make things more complicated.

So, in situations like this, lying was the way to go.

“There’s nothing Ruquer doesn’t have. The original Twelve Zodiac Arches were in Ruquer too. So, my Celestial Infinity Technique is essentially an improved version of the Twelve Zodiac Arches.”

Once again, a lie that couldn’t be verified was as good as the truth.

“The original Twelve Zodiac Arches were in Ruquer?”

“We knew the Twelve Zodiac Arches had flaws, but the version we have in Sephira isn’t the original?”

“Why were they in Ruquer?”

Everyone was in an uproar. But it made sense.

After all, Keter had brought back incredible things from Ruquer. A whole bag of elixirs, priceless ancient relics, and artifacts.

While Ultima Merchant had done the most to improve Sephira’s finances, Keter had also played a significant role.

“Anyway, you don’t need to perfectly replicate my Celestial Infinity Technique. Just take inspiration from it. Steal the clues to break the limits of the Twelve Zodiac Arches from me.”

The more he embellished the lie, the more questions arose, so Keter quickly shifted to a more important topic, and the trainees eagerly followed.

“The limits of the Twelve Zodiac Arches…!”

“It’s true, the Twelve Zodiac Arches lacked a realm of enlightenment.”

“Instructor, at such a young age, you’ve not only reached enlightenment but also improved it…!”

Sephira had already achieved two growth spurts. The first was when Keter joined Sephira, bringing a sense of urgency. The second was during the preparations for the tournament, where his training methods shone.

On top of that, the Family War with Baydant and the war with the Kingdom Army had proven Sephira’s training effective, and their overall level had risen significantly.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they had each grown by one star level. In just a month.

However, no one had risen from Master to Grandmaster, which Keter found deeply regrettable.

“Enough admiration. I plan to raise you all to at least Master level within a week. Grandmaster is within reach. Prime is out of the question.”

Snap!

Keter flicked his fingers. Immediately, earthen fists rose in front of each person.

As the fists opened, they revealed radiant elixirs glowing with a beautiful light.

“Elixirs!”

“Haha, as expected!”

Some openly rejoiced, while others internally celebrated, thinking, ‘It was worth swallowing my pride to come.’

“This is Revival Jade. Each one costs 1 million gold.”

“W-what, 1 million? Cheongryeonghwan was only 200,000!”

Cheongryeonghwan was already considered one of the best elixirs in the Lilian Kingdom. But this was five times more expensive. The effects must be extraordinary.

Everyone carefully picked up the Revival Jade. But they didn’t rush to consume it. All elixirs could turn into poison with the slightest mistake. There was a specific way to take them.

“Everyone out.”

As expected, Keter sent all the trainees outside the igloo.

The ten trainees lined up without being told. Keter looked pleased.

“Strip. Now.”

At the command to strip, everyone flinched. In this cold, strip?

Even with fur clothes, the cold bit into their skin. Fingers and toes would freeze and necrotize in less than a minute in this weather.

“Trainees, what are you doing? Are you deaf? From now on, if you don’t follow my orders, consider yourselves out.”

At Keter’s sharp command, Taragon was the first to strip, boldly even removing his underwear, which Keter stopped.

“Save the nudity for when you’re alone.”

Keter allowed them to strip down to their underwear. Catherine followed without shame, and even the elderly weren’t exempt. Panir, the oldest, also stripped.

Shiver shiver shiver.*

No matter how much they protected their bodies with Aura, they couldn’t completely block the cold. The trainees all took the same posture to protect themselves from the cold.

They crouched, hands tucked under their armpits.

“Attention.”

But Keter immediately stopped them.

He had just said that disobeying orders meant they were out. So, this time, everyone quickly stood at attention.

“Consume the Revival Jade. Now!”

At Keter’s command, the trainees quickly poured the elixir into their mouths.

Unlike other elixirs, the Revival Jade didn’t slide smoothly down their throats. It was dry and crumbly, like hardtack.

“Chew it thoroughly before swallowing. Elixirs aren’t free. Since it’s you, I’ll only charge the cost price of 500,000 gold. Be grateful.”

The trainees’ eyes grew moist. Whether it was from the elixir’s effects or the realization that they had to pay 500,000 gold, no one could tell.

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